Search

In order to analyze the effect of pedestrians’ crossing street on vehicle flows, we investigated traffic characteristics of vehicles and pedestrians. Based on that, rules of lane changing, acceleration, deceleration, randomization and update are modified. Then we established two urban two-lane cellular automata models of traffic flow, one of which is about sections with non-signalized crosswalk and the other is on uncontrolled sections with pedestrians crossing street at random. MATLAB is used for numerical simulation of the different traffic conditions; meanwhile space–time diagram and relational graphs of traffic flow parameters are generated and then comparatively analyzed. Simulation results indicate that when vehicle density is lower than around 25 vehs/(km lane), pedestrians have modest impact on traffic flow, whereas when vehicle density is higher than about 60 vehs/(km lane), traffic speed and volume will decrease significantly especially on sections with non-signal-controlled crosswalk. The results illustrate that the proposed models reconstruct the traffic flow’s characteristic with the situation where there are pedestrians crossing and can provide some practical reference for urban traffic management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An investigation on oscillating characteristic of free surface in a liquid bridge for high Pr number fluids under gravity has been conducted numerically. Against the former studies, free surface is treated as a deformable surface in the direct numerical simulation (DNS) of liquid bridge by using a mass conserving level set method for the first time. The results show that, the moving track of vortex centers appears the shape of axisymmetric hook in the stable stage of thermocapillary convection, and the fluctuation of surface velocity is closely relative to the motion of cell flow toward the center and cold disk. In the process of transforming from the stable stage to oscillatory stage, the moving track of vortex centers of cell flow shows the asymmetry and step characteristic. The coupling effects of the temperature, velocity and free surface oscillations constitute complete mechanism of thermocapillary convection oscillations. The temperature firstly oscillates at the hot corner, and transfer direction of temperature oscillation is from the hot corner to inner. The velocity of surface flow is larger than that of internal flow, and the surface flow is supplied by the bulk return flow with the disturbance information of the velocity. The velocity oscillation lags behind the temperature oscillation at the hot corner. The closer to the intermediate height, the larger amplitudes of temperature and velocity are. The oscillation law of velocity and free surface at the intermediate height are the same, and there are two obvious oscillation bifurcations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective The herpes zoster (HZ) vaccine is recommended for adults in the US ages ≥60 years who do not have weakened immune systems. It is unclear how the risk of HZ varies according to age and disease conditions in younger patients with autoimmune or inflammatory (AI) diseases. This study was undertaken to evaluate the age-stratified incidence of HZ in patients with AI diseases as compared to older adults for whom the HZ vaccine is currently recommended by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Methods Using linked data obtained from patients who were insured by US commercial and government health care plans during the period 2007-2010, 7 cohorts of patients with AI diseases were assembled: systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), psoriasis (PsO), ankylosing spondylitis (AS), and gout. Two comparator cohorts were also assembled as controls: adult patients with diabetes and adult subjects without AI diseases or diabetic conditions. HZ was identified using diagnostic codes. Age-specific incidence rates (IRs) of HZ were calculated and compared to the IRs of HZ in control subjects ages 61-70 years who were without AI diseases or diabetic conditions. Results After review of the linked data, the following number of enrollment periods were identified: 8,395 for patients with SLE, 7,916 for patients with IBD, 50,646 for patients with RA, 2,629 for patients with PsA, 4,299 for patients with PsO, 1,019 for patients with AS, 58,934 for patients with gout, 214,631 for control patients with diabetes, and 330,727 for control subjects without AI diseases and diabetic conditions. The respective highest and lowest IRs of HZ during the study were 19.9 per 1,000 person-years in the SLE cohort and 6.8 per 1,000 person-years in the gout cohort, as compared to an IR of 5.3 per 1,000 person-years in control subjects without AI diseases or diabetic conditions. The age-specific IRs of HZ in patients with RA and those with SLE ages ≥40 years were 1.5-2 times greater than those observed in older healthy adults (IR 8.5 per 1,000 person-years), for whom the vaccine is currently recommended. Conclusion SLE, IBD, and RA are AI diseases associated with a higher risk of HZ compared to that in older adults for whom vaccination is currently recommended, suggesting that individuals with these conditions who are as young as age 40 years could potentially benefit from the HZ vaccine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The unsaturated zone is an important link between groundwater and the land surface, and can provide storage capacity for both water and contaminants. Consequently, the solute profile of the unsaturated zone can provide much information on groundwater recharge using tracers. This study takes a rain-fed agricultural area (Luochuan loess plain) in the Chinese Loess Plateau as an example to demonstrate how much recharge information in the thick unsaturated zone can be obtained from the solute profile. The results show that the recharge rate is 36-67 mm yr and infiltration rate is 0.19 to 0.30 m yr, as obtained using three methods, i.e., evaluating the Cl-peak, chloride mass balance, and nitrate levels. The amount of time needed for annual precipitation to reach the water table is 133-316 years, and the groundwater is tritium free. The nitrate introduced by human activities is mainly distributed in the upper unsaturated zone (above 6 m), and the groundwater nitrate content (3.7 to 9.6 mg l as NO) remains at baseline level. The storage capacity of the unsaturated zone is found to delay the entrance of pollutants into the aquifer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to explore the influence of neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin on autophagy and its role in ischemia/reperfusion injury in human kidney-2 (HK-2) cells during acute kidney injury (AKI). HK-2 cells were given hypoxia/reoxygenation treatment for different times to simulate ischemia/reperfusion injury. Autophagy was evaluated by western blot and immunofluorescence of GFP-LC3. Cell viability was tested to reflect the degree of cell damage. The autophagy inhibitor 3-MA was used to inhibit autophagy and determine the role of autophagy in ischemia/reperfusion injury. HK-2 cells were hypoxia for 1 h, followed by reoxygenation treatment for 24 h. These cells were then exposed to human recombinant protein neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) (50, 100, 200, 400, or 1000 ng/mL) with or without 3-MA. Our results showed that autophagy was induced by hypoxia treatment and was further enhanced by reoxygenation after hypoxia treatment. Cell viability was decreased with the inhibition of autophagy in the process. Autophagic flux was further induced with NGAL (>200 ng/mL), while cell viability declined in this condition. Cell viability was recovered when autophagy was inhibited. These results indicate that autophagy plays, in part, a protective role in renal ischemia/reperfusion injury. Furthermore, the data suggest that NGAL strengthens the level of autophagy in this process. Overall, a large quantity of NGAL produced by renal proximal tubular epithelial cells may induce excessive autophagy and increase renal ischemia/reperfusion injury in acute kidney injury. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

• The FR-RSA method is adequate for the analysis of ordinary and seismically isolated bridges crossing strike-slip faults. • The peak quasi-static response, r Q S F P , dominates the peak total response of ordinary straight bridges. • The peak dynamic responses, r o F N and r o F P , constitute a significant portion of the peak total response of seismically isolated bridges. • The FR-RSA method requires application of different damping ratios to the isolation modes and non-isolation modes of the seismically isolated bridges. • The isolation modes and pier modes control the peak isolation displacements and peak pier drifts of the seismically isolated bridges. The fault rupture-response spectrum analysis (FR-RSA) method approximates the peak response of bridge structures crossing strike-slip faults by superposing the peak quasi-static and dynamic responses in the fault-normal and fault-parallel directions. The first part of this article aims to further validate the accuracy of the FR-RSA method for estimating the peak response of ordinary bridges crossing strike-slip faults. This is achieved by comparing results obtained from the FR-RSA method against nonlinear response history analysis (NLRHA) for two ordinary straight bridges under different fault crossing conditions. The effects of modal combination rule and number of modes on the peak response of the considered ordinary bridges are also examined. The second part of the article investigates the adequacy of the FR-RSA method for estimating the peak response of seismically isolated bridges crossing strike-slip faults. This is achieved by considering two seismically isolated bridges along with different fault crossing angles, fault crossing locations, and input ground motions and by comparing results obtained from the FR-RSA method against NLRHA. This investigation involves examining the effects of modal combination rule, number of modes, damping ratio, and mode type on the peak response of the considered seismically isolated bridges. The analysis results indicate that the peak responses of ordinary and seismically isolated bridges computed from the FR-RSA method are in good agreement with those obtained from NLRHA, thus demonstrating the adequacy of the FR-RSA method for the analysis of bridge structures crossing strike-slip faults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Reveal gas-liquid displacement before and after breakthrough in porous media. • Visualize the evolution of finger morphologies in different flow regimes. • Time evolution of fingering after breakthrough exhibits a fingering evolution cycle. • Characterize the saturation curve as a function of time and space. Gas-liquid displacement in porous media widely exists in many terrestrial/extraterrestrial subsurface resource extraction and utilization applications. The typical fingering displacement during gas invading has been well identified through extensive research efforts. Yet, the evolution of fingering structures after invading breakthrough is rarely reported. Herein, through a joint approach of experimental flow imaging and digital image processing, we investigated the gas-liquid fingering displacement in a porous-patterned microfluidic chip from the breakthrough moment until reaching the steady state. With a wide range of capillary number Ca and viscosity ratio M , we visualized the evolution of finger morphologies in different flow regimes including capillary fingering (CF), viscous fingering (VF), and crossover zone (CZ). Interestingly, we found that finger structures of CF regime remain the same after the breakthrough, whereas fingers of VF regime keep expanding until almost all the pore space is invaded and eventually reaches to steady state. Followed with experimental observations, a comparative quantification of fingering patterns was also conducted in terms of invasion velocity, phase saturation and fractal dimension. A dramatic increase of gas saturation, from 0.15 to 0.60 at the case of Log 10 Ca=-5.17 and Log 10 M=-2.78, is obtained in the VF regime when the steady state is reached, so is the fractal dimension (from 0.14 to 0.16, even higher than one of CF). The underlying mechanism of such fingering expansion in VF is further revealed from the time evolution of fingering after breakthrough. A previously unobserved fingering cycle, consisting of new finger forming, cap invading, breakthrough and finger vanishing, keeps repeating until the saturation reaches the maximum. We believe that these findings are of significance in evaluating extraction effectiveness, economic benefits and storage safety for subsurface applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, 3D object detection by point cloud data processing has been applied to robotics and autonomous driving because of the popularity of the LiDAR sensors. Point cloud data contain the depth and geometric space information of an object as compared with the 2D images, and achieve high precision for classification and location. In the traditional processing of point cloud data, the disorder and sparsity of the points are significant problems. In addition, the traditional detector can only support processing a limited number of point clouds. Thus, it is difficult to detect objects using a large number of point clouds. However, the previous methods need to sample the point cloud data into a coarser type, so they cannot avoid the loss of information and the accuracy is affected, as seen in in PV-RCNN. In this paper, we propose a multiscale feature fusion detector called multiscale region proposal networks (MS-RPNs), which can provide multiscale prediction results for difficult category objects. Meanwhile, our method can improve the detection accuracy for smaller objects with the optimal processing of the multiscale feature extraction module. The efficiency and accuracy of the multiscale region proposal network on the KITTI 3D object detection datasets was evaluated using numerous experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We innovated a new PM removal approach based on the augmented particle sink effect. • The purification device achieved best performance when its porosity was 30%–40%. • This approach can save at least 50% of the device running time. • This approach has advantages with limited economic costs and energy consumption. Traditional indoor air cleaning technologies are mostly equipped with fans and auxiliary components in addition to the core purification unit, and consequently use more energy in the building environment. To energy-efficiently improve indoor air quality, this paper presents a new approach to remove indoor airborne particulate matter. The approach couples the negative pressure effect over the point sink zone by considering the electrohydrodynamic flow generated in a high-voltage gas discharge process to augment the particle sink effect. This facilitates indoor airborne particulate matter to be collected and removed more quickly. We evaluated the influencing factors on the particulate matter removal proportion by laboratory scale experiments: the applied voltage, interelectrode distance, and porosity and shape of the collecting electrode, and compared the particulate matter control performance and energy efficiency of this approach with those of the existing studies. Results showed that the 30 %–40 % porosity of the collecting electrode and stronger electric field intensity had a clearer removal proportion of particulate matter. Moreover, the energy efficiency for 1–2.5 μm particulate matter of this approach (12.7 (m3/h)/W) was 2.3–7.9 times higher than that of the commercially available conventional air cleaners (1.6–5.6 (m3/h)/W). Compared to conventional particle sink purification technique, this approach could save at least 50 % of the sink running time to achieve a better particulate matter removal effect, and shorten approximately 50 % of the 1–2.5 μm particulate matter reverse mass transfer time. This study provides an important reference basis for improving indoor air quality and the creation of a more sustainable society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tumor-derived exosomes (TDEs) are key immune regulators in the tumor microenvironment. They have been shown to reshape the immune microenvironment and prevent antitumor immune responses via their immunosuppressive cargo, thereby determining responsiveness to cancer therapy. By delivering suppressive cargo to the immune cells, TDEs directly or indirectly influence the functions and antitumor activities of immune cells. TDE-based therapy is emerging as a cutting-edge and promising strategy for inhibiting tumor progression or enhancing antitumor immunity. Therefore, in this study, we reviewed the mechanism by which TDEs regulate immune cells and their applications in immunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the field application of oil and gas well drilling, it is found that the previous mechanical specific energy (MSE) model cannot well monitor the data of rotary impact drilling, and there are great errors. The main reason is that these MSE models focus on the correction of hydraulic and rate of penetration (ROP), ignoring the impact energy generated by hydraulic impactor, thereby reducing drilling efficiency (DE). Therefore, this paper improves weight-on-bit (WOB) and hydraulic parameter displacement Q to establish the rotary hydraulic impact specific energy model (RHISE) of polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) and roller cone bits, and establishes the corresponding bit optimization model (BO) considering drilling cost (C T), RHISE, wear evaluation index (WI) and ROP. Applying this model to four wells in Shunbei, results show that the ROP of roller cone bits increases by about 10% and the DE increases by about 8% compared with the PDC bit. Compared with the combination of staggered PDC and roller cone bits (RCB) with hydraulic impactor, DE increased by 16% and BO increased by 4%. Therefore, the comprehensive efficiency of RCB combined with hydraulic impactor is better than that of PDC bit combined with hydraulic impactor. [Display omitted] • Established a rotational hydrodynamic impact specific energy model. • Established a bit selection model based on: rotary impact drilling. • Established an evaluation method for drilling efficiency and bit selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of the present study was to explore the optimum timing for mid-stage nitrogen (N) application to improve fragrant rice performance. The field experiment was conducted in 2019 and 2020 with two fragrant rice cultivars, i.e., YNX28 and NG9108, and five timings of mid-stage nitrogen application: at the emergence of the top-fifth-leaf (TL5), the top-fourth-leaf (TL4), the top-third-leaf (TL3), the top-second-leaf (TL2), and the top-first-leaf (TL1) of the main stem. The control condition received no mid-stage nitrogen application (CK). The results revealed that the TL5, TL4, TL3 and TL2 treatments significantly increased grain yield of both varieties in 2019 and 2020, compared with CK. Grain yield reached a maximum value under the TL3 treatment of YNX28 and the TL4 treatment of NG9108. Moreover, the TL4, TL3 and TL2 treatments significantly increased the brown rice rate, milled rice rate, head rice rate and protein content of both varieties in 2019 and 2020, compared with CK, whereas the TL2 and TL1 treatments of YNX28 and the TL3, TL2 and TL1 treatments of NG9108 significantly increased the chalky rice rate and chalkiness. Further, appropriate mid-stage nitrogen application timing also improved the grain 2-AP content due to regulation of the contents of synthesis-related precursors (proline, GABA) and enzymatic activities (ProDH, OAT, P5CS, BADH2). Compared with CK, the TL4 and TL3 treatments of YNX28 significantly increased the 2-AP content in the rice grains by 21.8–27.4%, while the TL5 and TL4 treatments of NG9108 significantly increased the 2-AP content in the rice grains by 15.6–31.6%. These results suggest that the TL3 treatment of YNX28 and the TL4 treatment of NG9108 are the optimum timings of mid-stage nitrogen application for fragrant rice production. The optimal mid-stage nitrogen application timing of NG9108 is earlier than that of YNX28. • Delayed timing of mid-stage nitrogen application deteriorated the appearance quality of rice. • Appropriate mid-stage nitrogen application timing also improved the grain 2-AP content. • In terms of 2-AP and its synthesis-related parameters, TL4 of NG9108 and TL3 of YNX28 differed most from CK treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a systemic autoimmune inflammatory disease that predominantly affects women of childbearing age and results in various adverse pregnancy outcomes (APOs). Pregnancy was formerly discouraged in patients with SLE because of unstable disease activity during the gestation period, increased thrombosis risk, severe organ damage, and inevitable side effects of immunosuppressive agents. Currently, most patients with SLE have successful pregnancies due to preconception counselling, strict monitoring, and improved therapy with minimised complications for both the mother and foetus. Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is extensively used and is beneficial for improving pregnancy outcomes. However, pregnant women with SLE have a high-risk of APOs, such as disease flare, preterm birth, intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), preeclampsia, and pregnancy loss. Better understanding of the changes in maternal immunity and serum biomarkers, as well as their relationships with SLE-related APOs progression, would facilitate the investigation of molecular mechanisms for triggering and ameliorating APOs. Furthermore, it would enable us to explore and develop novel and effective therapeutic strategies to prevent disease activation. Therefore, this review briefly introduces the interaction between pregnancy outcomes and SLE, elucidates pathophysiological and immunological changes during SLE pregnancy. Furthermore, this review systematically expounds on the effective predictors of APOs and the molecular mechanisms underlying the SLE-related APOs to provide a solid foundation for the advanced management of lupus pregnancy. • SLE has a predominant effect on childbearing-age women and results in various APOs involving with mother and foetus. • Several biomarkers can be applied for predicting APOs during SLE pregnancy. • It is worth noting that multiple driving forces can aggravate APOs progression during SLE pregnancy. • Increasing medicines have been extensively used to relive SLE-related APOs. • Clinical management is required for inhibiting complications of SLE pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Distribution of intracellular (iARGs) and extracellular ARGs (eARGs) in manure anaerobic digestion (AD) process coupled with two types of biochar (BC and BP) were investigated. And the effects of biochar on the conjugation transfer of ARGs were explored by deciphering the interaction of biochar with bacterial stress responses, physiological metabolism and antibiotic resistances. Results showed that AD process could effectively remove all the detected eARGs with efficiency of 47.4–98.2%. The modified biochar (BP) with larger specific surface area (SSA) was propitious to decrease the absolute copy number of extracellular resistance genes. AD process could effectively remove iARGs by inhibiting the growth of host bacteria. The results of structural equation models (SEM) indicated that biochar put indirect influences on the fate of ARGs (λ = −0.23, P > 0.05). Analysis on oxidative stress levels, antioxidant capacity, DNA damage-induced response (SOS) response and energy generation process demonstrated that biochar induced the oxidative stress response of microorganisms and enhanced the antioxidant capacity of bacteria. The elevated antioxidant capacity negatively affected SOS response, amplified cell membrane damage and further weakened the energy generation process, resulted in the inhibition of horizontal transfer of ARGs. • All detected eARGs could be effectively removed with efficiencies of 47.4–98.2%. • BP with larger SSA was propitious to decrease the absolute copy number of eDNA. • AD process could effectively remove iARGs by inhibiting the growth of host bacteria. • The addition of biochar induced the oxidative stress response of microorganisms. • The enhanced bacterial antioxidant capacity is crucial for mitigation of ARGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Distribution of intracellular (iARGs) and extracellular ARGs (eARGs) in manure anaerobic digestion (AD) process coupled with two types of biochar (BC and BP) were investigated. And the effects of biochar on the conjugation transfer of ARGs were explored by deciphering the interaction of biochar with bacterial stress responses, physiological metabolism and antibiotic resistances. Results showed that AD process could effectively remove all the detected eARGs with efficiency of 47.4–98.2%. The modified biochar (BP) with larger specific surface area (SSA) was propitious to decrease the absolute copy number of extracellular resistance genes. AD process could effectively remove iARGs by inhibiting the growth of host bacteria. The results of structural equation models (SEM) indicated that biochar put indirect influences on the fate of ARGs (λ = −0.23, P > 0.05). Analysis on oxidative stress levels, antioxidant capacity, DNA damage-induced response (SOS) response and energy generation process demonstrated that biochar induced the oxidative stress response of microorganisms and enhanced the antioxidant capacity of bacteria. The elevated antioxidant capacity negatively affected SOS response, amplified cell membrane damage and further weakened the energy generation process, resulted in the inhibition of horizontal transfer of ARGs. • All detected eARGs could be effectively removed with efficiencies of 47.4–98.2%. • BP with larger SSA was propitious to decrease the absolute copy number of eDNA. • AD process could effectively remove iARGs by inhibiting the growth of host bacteria. • The addition of biochar induced the oxidative stress response of microorganisms. • The enhanced bacterial antioxidant capacity is crucial for mitigation of ARGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A TDLAS-based CH 4 sensor system was developed using BP neural network. • Wavelet denoising was employed to improve SNR on a LabVIEW platform. • Neural network inversion was used to improve measurement precision of δ 13CH 4. • The BP neural network shows good performance for multi-parameter analysis. In order to achieve high-precision and continuous measurement of methane (CH 4) isotope abundance (δ 13CH 4), a near-infrared CH 4 sensor system was developed based on back propagation (BP) neural network using tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS). A pair of CH 4 isotope absorption lines with similar low-state energy levels near 1658 nm were selected for minimizing temperature dependence. A LabVIEW-based signal processing platform was realized for real-time signal processing. Wavelet denoising (WD) algorithm was employed to pre-process the absorption signal for increasing signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and the BP neural network algorithm was adopted to invert δ 13CH 4. The BP neural network algorithm exhibits potential for multi-parameter analysis, including gas temperature and pressure. Related experiments were carried out to prove the high-precision and reliability of the neural network inversion method. Through experimental comparison, the measurement precision of δ 13CH 4 is enhanced by ∼ 11 times using the neural network inversion method compared to the maximum absorbance extracting method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the treatment of heavy metal ions in environmental wastewater has attracted researchers' attention, it is still a great challenge to prepare green adsorbents with biodegradability, high adsorption efficiency, and high detection sensitivity. Herein, a bio-based, 3D network structured, luminescent aerogel with excellent adsorption efficiency and detection sensitivity for detecting and removing Cr6+ in an aqueous solution was demonstrated. The bifunctional aerogels were designed and synthesized using waste collagen, polyethyleneimine (PEI), and carbon dots cross-linked by aldehyde cellulose nanofibers. Sorption experiments were designed to investigate the sorption properties of Cr6+ through response surface methodology (RSM). The kinetic model (pseudo-second-order model) and isotherm model (Langmuir model) well-matched with the adsorption process. The maximum adsorption capacity by degradable collagen-based porous fluorescent aerogel for Cr6+ reached 103.3 mg.g−1. In addition, there was a good linear relationship between the fluorescence intensity of the fluorescent aerogel and the Cr6+ concentration. In addition, the adsorption mechanism, fluorescence properties, microstructure, and surface morphology have been thoroughly studied. The proposed bifunctional aerogels could be attractive for smart sorbents in the field of removal and detection of metal ions in wastewater. [Display omitted] • Collagen-based fluorescent aerogel was obtained for Cr6+ adsorption and detection. • Aldehyde-modified cellulose nanofibers were used as green crosslinking agents. • Response Surface Methodology optimized the operation conditions of aerogel. • Real-time fluorescence changes can be used to reflect the adsorption process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a new approach to assess time-dependent corrosion fatigue damage of welded joint considering the coupling effect between mechanical factor and corrosion factor. The high stress region around weld will accelerate corrosion and be more likely to induce nonuniform corrosion of welded joint. And the effect of loading on corrosion behavior of the steel in NaCl solution was investigated. The synergistic effect between applied elastic stress and chemical attack on Q235 steel was evaluated by electrochemical experiments. A side longitudinal of ship structure is selected as a case study. Time-dependent stress concentration factor of welded joint as a function of corrosion deterioration was analyzed, and the iterative process of stress and corrosion degeneration of plate thickness was used to simulate coupling effect basing on the results of experiment. The hot spot stress approach was adopted to calculate the fatigue damage. It is revealed that the nonuniform corrosion could influence fatigue damage of welded joint, and that impact will be more and more significant with the growth of corrosion year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study is to investigate the characteristics and the evolution of visual field damage caused by Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) and to provide clinical data for the diagnosis of LHON. Parameters of visual field in 32 consecutive patients (49 eyes) with LHON who were confirmed by genetic diagnostic tests were retrospectively measured within 1 week, between three to six months, and at six months after onset. Visual field defects revealed central scotoma in 26 eyes (53.1 %), paracentral scotoma in 12 eyes (24.5 %), ceco-central defects in 6 eyes (12.2 %), blind spot enlargenment in 3 eyes (6.1 %), quadrantanopia in 2 eyes (4.1 %) within 1 week after onset. After 3 to 6 months, ceco-central defects were detected in 22 eyes (44.9 %), central isopter constriction in 10 eyes (20.4 %), hemianopia or quadrantanopia in 5 eyes (10.2 %), central scotoma in 4 eyes (8.2 %), and paracentral scotoma in 1 eye (2.0 %). After 6 months, central isopter constriction was observed in 18 eyes (36.7 %), diffuse defects in 21 eyes (42.9 %), ceco-central defects in 3 eyes (6.1 %), hemianopia or quadrantanopia in 5 eyes (10.2 %), and central scotoma in 2 eyes (4.1 %). LHON at different stages was characterized by different focal visual field defects: visual field defects in LHON patients within 1 week after onset were mostly central or paracentral scotoma, which was enlarged around the ceco-central defect, or connected to form a blind spot after 3-6 months. Diffuse and central isopter constriction defects were usually developed after 6 months. Damages firstly appeared in papillomacular bundle and gradually expanded outward. These characteristics of visual field defects reported in this study might provide a clinical basis for better diagnosis of LHON. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bioleaching by sulfur oxidizing bacteria has been regarded as a novel dewatering process for the sludge treatment. Since the bioleaching process is a comprehensive biological and chemical process for sludge treatment, it is necessary to explore the dewatering mechanism of sewage sludge improved by bioleaching. The bioleached sludge showed a significant difference with the control sludge, mostly through a considerable reduction of pH (to 3.92) and an improved specific resistance to filtration (SRF), which reduced to 5.31 × 10 10 m/kg after 72 h treatment. Separate sulfuric acid addition and Fe 2+ addition did not result in significant decrease of sludge resistance filtration, indicating that the chemical acidification and Fe 2+ addition are not the deciding factors for the improvement by bioleaching. The extracellular polymeric substances in bioleached sludge decreased considerably, with the protein and polysaccharide reduced by 97.42% and 76.00%, respectively. During the bioleaching process, the number of microbial genuses in the bioleached sludge gradually decreased and the dominant bacterial genus ( Acidimicrobium ferrooxidans ) shifted from 7.48% to 26.49% at the end of bioleaching. While many factors influence the dewaterability of the sludge, the bio-substitution which led to the decrease of EPS is the deciding factor for the dewaterability improvement of the bioleached sludge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cubic NaYF 4 single crystals co-doped with ∼1.90 mol% Tm 3+ and various Ho 3+ concentrations were grown by Bridgman method. The energy transfer from Tm 3+ to Ho 3+ and the optimum fluorescence emission around 2.04 μm of Ho 3+ ion were investigated based on the measured absorption spectra, emission spectra, emission cross section and decay curves under excitation of 800 nm LD. The emission intensity at 2.04 μm increased with the increase of Ho 3+ concentration from 0.96 mol% to 3.89 mol% when the concentration of Tm 3+ was held constantly at ∼1.90 mol%. Moreover, the maximum emission cross section reached 1.06 × 10 −20 cm 2 and the maximum fluorescence lifetime was 23.23 ms for Tm 3+ (1.90 mol%)/Ho 3+ (3.89 mol%) co-doped one. According to the measured lifetime of Tm 3+ single-doped and Tm 3+ /Ho 3+ co-doped samples, the maximum energy transfer efficiency of Tm 3+ : 3 F 4 level was 95.0%. Analysis on the fluorescence dynamics indicated that electric dipole–dipole is dominant for the energy transfer from Tm 3+ to Ho 3+ . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New Zealand carrot seed oil extracted by supercritical fluid CO 2 was analyzed for its fatty acid composition, color, quality, melting and crystallization, triglycerides fatty acid composition and positional distribution of the fatty acids. The oil was yellowish in color and its peroxide value, p -anisidine value, total oxidation value, free fatty acid content, acid value, conjugated diene and triene value, unsaponifiable matter content and polar compound level were all lower than the maximum limits of guidelines for edible oils. The melting and crystallization profiles of carrot seed oil were assessed by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). Both of them occurred in two distinct regions which are related to the fatty acid composition. The major fatty acid of carrot seed oil was oleic acid (81.5 ± 1.7%; p < 0.05). Four major triglyceride peaks were collected via high performance liquid chromatography, identified by electrospray ionization-mass spectroscopy and confirmed by gas chromatography. They were trilinoleoyl-glycerol (LLL)/linolenoyl-linoleoyl-palmitoyl-glycerol (LnLP), dilinoleoyl-oleoyl-glycerol (LLO)/dilinoleoyl-palmitoyl-glycerol (LLP), dioleoyl-linoleoyl-glycerol (LOO)/linoleoyl-palmitoyl-oleoyl-glycerol (LPO) and trioleoyl-glycerol (OOO). Saturated fatty acids in carrot seed oil predominated at sn -1,3 positions, while polyunsaturated fatty acids were found mostly at the sn -2 position with C18:1 being more evenly distributed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Counterfeit chips in the supply chain as well as hardware Trojan (HT) attacks pose serious threats to the semiconductor industry. If undetected before deployment, they can lead to serious consequences including system performance/reliability issues during field operation and potential revenue/reputation loss for a trusted manufacturer. Currently, no unified detection method is available that can simultaneously address these integrity violations in integrated circuits (ICs). In addition, most existing detection approaches require a set of golden chips as a reference, which significantly increases the test cost and complexity. Furthermore, in some scenarios, it may be extremely difficult to obtain golden chips. In this paper, we present a novel unified IC integrity analysis approach that can effectively detect both recycled counterfeit ICs (the most dominant form of counterfeiting) as well as Trojan attacks in ICs without the need of golden chips. The proposed approach, referred to as self-similarity-based microchip integrity analysis (SeMIA), exploits intrinsic structural self-similarity in a design (e.g., multiple cores, multiple functional units of the same type, different parts of an adder) to isolate recycled chips and HT attacks under large inter- and intra-die process variations. It compares dynamic current ( I \text {DDT} ) signatures between two adjacent similar circuit structures using an appropriate isolation metric to detect such attacks with high degree of confidence. SeMIA does not rely on any embedded structure for authentication, thus it comes at virtually zero hardware overhead and can be applied to chips already produced. Through extensive simulations, we show that for 15% inter- and 10% intra-die variations in threshold voltage for a 45 nm CMOS process, over 98% of recycled chips can be reliably identified. Finally, experimental measurements on field programmable gate array chips demonstrate effectiveness of SeMIA for protection against both attacks. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objective. To analyze the treatment outcomes of patients who accepted IVF/ICSI-ET, diagnosed POR according to Bologna criteria. Study Design. Retrospective cohort study of one reproductive medical center, from 1st Jan., 2009, to 31st Dec., 2014. All patients fulfilled the Bologna criteria and accept IVF/ICSI-ET treatment with stimulation cycle. The main outcome measures were clinical pregnancy rate (CPR) and live birth rate (LBR). Results. There were 5770 eligible cycles included in this study. The incidence of POR was 10.3% (6286/62194). The overall CPR was 18.7%, IR was 11.6%, LBR/ET was 11.5%, and LBR/OPU was 8.3%. The cycle cancellation for no available oocyte or embryo was 4.9% and 18.6%, respectively. The subgroup of younger POR patients got highest CPR and LBR/ET, which decreased while increasing maternal age. Within three attempts, the patients got similar CPR and LBR. Conclusion. In conclusion, our study supports the Bologna criteria that defined women with poor IVF outcomes. But those younger than 42 years old with the first 3 attempts of IVF could got acceptable CPR and LBR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background To examine interactions between optic nerves. Methods A total of 24 Sprague-Dawley rats received unilateral intravitreal injections. The rats were equally divided into four groups: group A was administered an adeno-associated virus ( AAV) carrying an exogenous gene ( ND4; rAAV- ND4); group B, AAV carrying a green fluorescent protein ( GFP; rAAV- GFP); group C, fluorogold ( FG) nerve tracer dye; and group D, phosphate-buffered saline ( PBS) as a control. Two weeks later, GFP expression was evaluated in both retinas and optic nerves of group B rats after frozen sectioning. The presence of FG was also evaluated in group C optic nerves by fluorescent microscopy after frozen sectioning. Four weeks after injection, ND4 expression was evaluated in both eyes of groups A and D using western blotting and immunofluorescence. Results FG was observed in the optic chiasm posterior segment along the optic nerve of injected eyes. Some FG reached the anterior optic nerve of the non-injected eye. GFP fluorescence was observed only in the retina of the injected eye but not in the contralateral retina or either optic nerve. ND4 expression was significantly different between injected and non-injected eyes but not between the non-injected eyes in groups A and D. Conclusion Unilaterally injected material can reach the contralateral optic nerve through axoplasmic transport. It is possible that this the only mechanism by which the optic nerves directly communicate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tenuigenin, a major active component of polygala tenuifolia root, has been used to treat patients with insomnia, dementia, and neurosis. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of tenuigenin on osteoclastogenesis and clarify the possible mechanism. We showed that tenuigenin inhibited receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL)-induced osteoclast differentiation and bone resorption without cytotoxicity, which was further demonstrated by reduced osteoclast specific gene expression such as TRAP, c-Src, ATP6v0d2, etc. Moreover, the inhibitory effect of tenuigenin was associated with impaired NF-κB activity owing to delayed degradation/regeneration of IkBa and inhibition of p65 nuclear translocation. Consistent with the in vitro results, micro-ct scanning and analysis data showed that tenuigenin suppressed RANKL-induced bone loss in an animal model. Taken together, our data demonstrate that tenuigenin inhibit osteoclast formation and bone resorption both in vitro and in vivo , and comprise a potential therapeutic alternative for osteoclast-related disorders such as osteoporosis and cancer-induced bone destruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High quality α-NaYF 4 single crystals with various Tm 3+ concentrations ranging from 0.95 to 7.80 mol% were grown by an improved Bridgman method in which KF was used as flux and a high temperature gradient (70–90 °C/cm) for solid–liquid interface was employed. The differential thermal analysis, thermogravimetry analysis, X-ray powder diffraction, absorption spectra, emission spectra measured upon 800 nm excitation and fluorescence decay at 1.8 μm were measured to investigate the structural and luminescent properties of the crystals. The emission intensity at 1.8 μm increases with the increase of Tm 3+ concentration, and reaches a maximum value when the Tm 3+ concentration is about 1.90 mol%, but it decreases rapidly when the Tm 3+ concentration further increases from 2.88 mol% to 7.80 mol%. The fluorescence lifetime of Tm 3+ : 3 F 4 decreases with the increase of Tm 3+ doping level. The cross relaxation energy transfer ( 3 H 6 + 3 H 4 → 3 F 4 + 3 F 4 ) process and the concentration quenching effect of Tm 3+ are mainly responsible for the change of emission intensity. The stimulated emission cross section for the 0.95 mol% doped sample was calculated, and the maximum value reaches 0.58 × 10 −20 cm 2 at 1858 nm. The optical gain spectra were also calculated based on the absorption and emission cross section spectra. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To identify whether biochemical pregnancy (BP) and spontaneous abortion (SA) cases have the same clinical characteristics in assisted reproductive therapy (ART), and to assess its predictive value for the subsequent cycles. Methods: Retrospectively reviewed 12,174 cycles in the first in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET) cycle from January 2009 to December 2012 of Peking University Third Hospital Reproductive Medical Center. Besides those patients who reached ongoing pregnancy stage, 7,598 cases were divided into three groups: group 1, lack of pregnancy ( n = 6,651); group 2, BP ( n = 520); and group 3, SA ( n = 427). We compared the basic status of patients of the three groups, including ages, body mass index, basic hormone levels, controlled ovarian hyperstimulation protocols, amount of gonadotropin use, and endometrium thickness. The reproductive outcome of the next embryo transfer cycles of the three groups was analyzed. Results: 520 patients ended as BP, and 427 patients ended as SA. The age, primary infertility proportion, body mass index, basic FSH level and basic E2 level were similar among groups. Endometrial thickness, controlled ovarian hyperstimulation protocol, Gn dosage, average oocyte retrieval and ET numbers were also similar. Multivariate analysis showed that only the age ( P = 0.037, OR 1.060, 95 % CI 1.001-1.120) and endometrium thickness on hCG administration day ( P = 0.029, OR 1.136, 95 % CI 1.013-1.275) may result in the differences between BP and SA groups. In the subsequent ET cycles, the total BP rate was 4.37 %, clinical pregnancy rate was 37.28 %, and miscarriage rate was 8.18 %. The clinical pregnancy rates were similar among groups. However, BP group still had the highest BP rate ( P < 0.05, 7.97 vs. 4.01 % and 5.28 %), BP and SA group had higher miscarriage rate ( P < 0.05, 11.76 % and 14.75 vs. 7.41 %). Conclusion: BP and SA in first IVF cycles had negative predictive value for subsequent ART outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The weight-adjusted-waist Index (WWI), an innovative metric for assessing obesity, exhibits superior efficacy in appraising lean muscle and adipose tissue mass relative to both the Body Mass Index (BMI) and Waist Circumference (WC). The objective of this research paper is to investigate the correlation between WWI and the incidence of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and Osteoarthritis (OA). Methods: In this population-based study, we collected data from adult participants aged 20–80 years using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) conducted between 2011 and 2020 to analyze the association between WWI and the occurrence of RA and OA. NHANES, a nationally representative cross-sectional survey, is designed to evaluate the health and nutritional status of the U.S. population. The current research incorporates an extensive, nationally representative sample of U.S. adults, utilizing weighted multivariate linear regression and smoothed curve fitting techniques to examine linear and non-linear relationships. Threshold effects were determined through a two-part linear regression model. Additionally, subgroup analyses and interaction tests were conducted to explore the connection between WWI and the incidence of RA and OA. Results: Our findings reveal a linear positive correlation between WWI and OA prevalence, indicating that an increase in WWI is linked to a heightened risk of OA. Conversely, a non-linear relationship was observed between WWI and RA prevalence, exhibiting a significant threshold effect with a saturation value of 11.21 cm/√kg. A positive association was detected to the left of the saturation point, while no significant association was present between the two variables to the right of the saturation point, suggesting a complex non-linear relationship between RA prevalence and WWI. Conclusions: This investigation demonstrates a positive linear association between WWI and OA prevalence, as well as a complex non-linear relationship with RA prevalence in U.S. adults aged 20–80 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the study of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate on semiconductors has greatly broadened the application of SERS technology in different fields. Developing new practical semiconductor SERS substrates materials is still important work. Here, different concentrations of Nd-doped MoS 2 were synthesized by a simple hydrothermal method. Compared with pure MoS 2 , doping Nd successfully enhanced the SERS signal. The Enhancement factor (EF) of the 2 at% Nd-doped MoS 2 is up to ∼1.29 × 106 due to the energy level transition and charge transfer effect. High sensitivity SERS detection of bilirubin, dipterex, and bisphenol A (BPA) was realized, and the lowest detection concentration was 10−8 M. Moreover, 2 at% Nd doped MoS 2 as SERS substrate can realize high sensitivity SERS detection of bilirubin, dipterex and bisphenol A (BPA), and the limit of detection (LOD) is 10−8 M, 10−9 M, and 10−9 M, respectively. Furthermore, 2 at% Nd-doped MoS 2 SERS substrate has high uniformity and excellent reproducibility, which is beneficial for practical applications. This work not only provides an efficient technique to get sensitive, stable, and low-cost SERS substrates but also advantageous for many application scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This work proposes a bio-connection network involving different information of Traditional Chinese Medicine and modern medicine to establish the correspondence between natural products (NPs) and antibiotics. • This work is the first attempt to quantify the strength of a relation between TCM formulae and curative efficacy groups by a graph based method. • This work introduces a deep network based feature ranking/selection method to further refine the NPs sample space serving for finding the potential candidates of new antibiotics design. Novel kinds of antibiotics are needed to combat the emergence of antibacterial resistance. Natural products (NPs) have shown potential as antibiotic candidates. Current experimental methods are not yet capable of exploring the massive, redundant, and noise-involved chemical space of NPs. In silico approaches are needed to select NPs as antibiotic candidates. This study screens out NPs with antibacterial efficacy guided by both TCM and modern medicine and constructed a dataset aiming to serve the new antibiotic design. A knowledge-based network is proposed in this study involving NPs, herbs, the concepts of TCM, and the treatment protocols (or etiologies) of infectious in modern medicine. Using this network, the NPs candidates are screened out and compose the dataset. Feature selection of machine learning approaches is conducted to evaluate the constructed dataset and statistically validate the im- portance of all NPs candidates for different antibiotics by a classification task. The extensive experiments prove the constructed dataset reaches a convincing classification performance with a 0.9421 weighted accuracy, 0.9324 recall, and 0.9409 precision. The further visu- alizations of sample importance prove the comprehensive evaluation for model interpretation based on medical value considerations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The precise characterization of a tight glutenite reservoir's microscopic pore structure is essential for its efficient development. However, it is difficult to accurately evaluate using a single method, and its microscopic heterogeneity is not fully understood. In this study, a combination of X-ray diffraction, casting thin section observations, scanning electron microscopy, high-pressure mercury injection, constant-speed mercury injection, X-ray computed tomography, and the advanced mathematical algorithms in the AVIZO 8.0 visualization software was used to construct the three-dimensional digital core of a glutenite reservoir at the study site, and the parameters of the pore network model were extracted. The overall microscopic pore structure characteristics were quantitatively investigated from multiple scales. Based on this, the mineral quantitative evaluation system (QEMSCAN) examined the microscopic heterogeneity of the glutenite reservoir and its impact on seepage. The results show that the glutenite reservoir in the study block can be classified into three categories based on lithology and capillary pressure curve characteristics. The type I reservoir samples have large and wide pore throats, low threshold pressure, and high reservoir quality; type II reservoir samples are characterized by medium-sized pore throat, medium threshold pressure, and moderate reservoir quality; and the small and narrow pore throat, high threshold pressure, and poor reservoir quality are characteristics of type III reservoir samples. The various pore throat types and mineral distributions are due to the differences in dissolution, compaction, and cementation. The continuous sheet pores have good connectivity, which is related to the interconnection of primary intergranular pores and strip fractures, while the connectivity of isolated pores is significantly poor, which is related to the development of intragranular dissolved pores and intercrystalline pores. This suggests the deterioration of physical properties and pore throat connectivity, reduced average pore radius, and decreased pore sorting as decreasing permeability. The tight glutenite pores range in size from 5 nm to 80 μm and primarily feature Gaussian and bimodal distribution patterns, and submicron–micron pores contribute more to seepage. The effective pores were found to be attributed to the slowing effect of abnormally high pressure on the vertical stress, and the protective effect was positively correlated with the high-pressure strength. Notably, there is strong microscopic heterogeneity in the distribution of the reservoir matrix minerals and the pore throat size. As a result, the injected fluid easily flows along the preferential seepage channel with pore development and connectivity. This study provides new insights into the exploration and development of similar tight reservoirs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Iodine ligand-coupled PbS QDs film was firstly used to modify ZnO ETLs to boost photovoltaic performance of PSCs. • Introducing PbS-TBAI layer improves crystal quality of perovskite and forms cascade energy band structure. • A maximum PCE of 20.53 % has been achieved in the PSCs based on ZnO/PbS-TBAI-80 ETLs. Zinc oxide (ZnO) was traditional cathode material for solar cells due to excellent photoelectric properties. However, when ZnO is used as electron transport layers (ETLs) in perovskite solar cells (PSCs), the occurred deprotonation reactions can easily lead to the decomposition of perovskite layer. Herein, we reported a simple and controllable low-temperature strategy to overcome above problem for achieving high-efficient and stable ZnO based planar PSCs, i.e. the colloidal PbS QDs and tetrabutylammonium iodide (TBAI) was sequentially spin-coated on ZnO ETLs and then mild post-annealing process was carried out to obtaining ZnO/PbS-TBAI compact layer. Due to the iodine ligands from TBAI, the PbS-TBAI films act as both surface wetting control layer and electric dipole layer to adjust the crystal growth of perovskite films and charge behavior within devices. The better non-wetting surface of ZnO/PbS-TBAI ETLs improves the crystallization of the perovskite films by suppressing heterogeneous nucleation. And the unique energy level alignment of ZnO/PbS-TBAI induced by tunable surface dipole moment of TBAI boosted hetero-interface charge extraction of PSCs. Consequently, the optimized ZnO/PbS-TBAI based PSCs exhibits the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 20.53 %, which is the champion PCE of ZnO PSCs with MAPbI 3 as the absorption layer. Stability tests also proved that the PCE of ZnO/PbS-TBAI based PSCs remains more than 86 % after exposure to 40 % humidity for 30 days, which is much more superior to that of control device. We firstly used iodination PbS QD films in this work to achieve higher photovoltaic performance in ZnO based PSCs, which prompts the further application of QDs materials within optoelectronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Time-dependent mass transfer mechanism of PM under sink effect was investigated. • The D app could reflect the mass transfer process of PM macroscopically. • The D ins could reveal the mass transfer process of PM for the details. • The prediction model of PMC had strong stability and good applicability. • The mass transfer effect of PM declined with particle size decreasing. The mass transfer process of fine particulate matter (PM) under the sink effect is affected by many variables, including purification device performance, environmental conditions, and time. In this paper, the time-dependent mass transfer mechanism of PM was explored while all other variables were to remain the same. Firstly, the spatial and temporal profile characteristics of particulate matter concentrations (PMC) with different size fractions were investigated. Subsequently, the apparent mass transfer coefficient D app of PM was calculated based on Fick's second law, and the relevant parameters were determined by laboratory-scale experiments. According to the D app , the instantaneous mass transfer coefficient D ins of PM was further discussed and the prediction model of PMC was established. Finally, the stability and applicability of the prediction model were verified by experiments. The results showed that the farther the distance from the purification device, the smaller the particle size, then the smaller the decrease rate of PMC and the stronger the regeneration process. The value of D app could reflect the mass transfer process of PM at the macroscopic level. The value of D ins could better characterize the mass transfer process of PM at the level of detail, and it could also be used to predict and evaluate the dynamic mass transfer efficiency of PM. The established PMC prediction model had strong stability and good applicability. The research results of this paper can provide an important reference basis for practical engineering applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to solve the problem of cherry rain-cracking, cold-water fish gelatin (CFG)-based edible films (CFG, CFG-CNC [cellulose nanocrystals], CFG-CA [chitosan hydrochloride-sodium alginate nanoparticles], CFG–CNC–CA, and their magnetic field [MF] films) were prepared with reinforcement by rod-spherical dual-nanoscale structures. Here, the spherical nanoparticles CA were formed based on static electricity interaction between chitosan hydrochloride and sodium alginate according to pre-gel method, whereas the rods consisted of CNC extracted from sugarcane bagasse. Studies were conducted in laboratory to determine the coating-ductility, hydrophobic, water-vapor barrier, mechanical, and retention properties, and in the field to determine cracking index (CI) and cracking ratio (CR). MF treatment was found to induce the rod-spherical dual-nanoparticles to arrange into C–O–C linkages. Compared to the other films, the CFG–CNC–CA (MF) film showed superior coating-ductility properties (surface tension: 61.8 mN m−1), hydrophobicity (water contact angle: 111.6°), and water-vapor barrier (water-vapor permeability: 7.43 × 10−10 gm−1Pa−1s−1), as well as superior mechanical (Young's modulus: 351 MPa; tensile strength: 30.1 MPa) and retention properties on cherry (water solubility: 38.4%; swelling degree: 876%). Compared with the experimental control, the total CI of cherries treated with CFG–CNC–CA (MF) was reduced from 43.3% to 11.8%, and the total CR was reduced from 34.8% to 11.1%, type Ⅰ' cracking in particular experienced a greater reduction (from 26.7% to 9.16%) than did type Ⅱ' (13.7%–4.96%) or Ⅲ' (8.90%–3.48%). Thus, this study successfully provided a reference for edible CFG–CNC–CA (MF) coatings that prevent and control cherry rain-cracking disasters worldwide in a timely, safe, and efficient manner. [Display omitted] • CFG-based films with spherical-rod nanoscale under magnetic field (MF) were prepared. • Fourier and Raman show arrangement of rod-spherical nanoparticles to C–O–C linkages. • The highest hydrophobicity (111.6°) and mechanical (351 MPa) were obtained. • Cracking index treated with CFG–CNC–CA (MF) coating was reduced from 43.3% to 11.8%. • Cracking ratio treated with CFG–CNC–CA (MF) coating was reduced from 34.8% to 11.1%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ho 3+ doped α-NaYF 4 single crystal with size of ∼∅10 mm × 100 mm was grown by an improved Bridgman method using KF as flux with the molar composition of raw materials NaF: KF: YF 3 : HoF 3 = 30: 18: 51: 1. The X-ray powder diffraction, transmission spectrum from 2500 nm to 8000 nm, absorption spectrum, emission spectrum by 640 nm excitation and fluorescence decay curves at 1190 nm and 2040 nm of the obtained single crystal were detected. The Judd–Oflet theory was applied to calculate the Judd–Oflet intensity parameters Ω 2,4,6 , radiative transition rate, branching ratio, radiative lifetime according to its measured absorption spectrum. The calculated maximum emission cross section by McCumber theory of Ho 3+ doped α-NaYF 4 crystal for ∼1.2 μm and ∼2.0 μm reached 0.42 × 10 −20 cm 2 and 0.69 × 10 −20 cm 2 , respectively. The gain cross section spectra were calculated based on the absorption and emission cross section spectra. In the meantime, the fluorescent lifetime at 1190 nm and 2040 nm were also estimated to be 3.21 ms and 18.12 ms from their decay curves. The Ho 3+ doped α-NaYF 4 single crystal with ∼90% high transmittance in wide range of 300–8000 nm and long lifetime of fluorescence may be considered as a potential candidate for applications in mid-infrared optical devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theβ-nucleated polypropylene (β-PP) and polypropylene (PP)were coextruded to form the alternating layered structure with differentlayer number. During the isothermal crystallization of layered samplesat 130 °C, the high-density β-nuclei at the two-dimensionallayered interfaces between β-PP and PP layers grew asymmetrically.In the β-PP layer, the growth of β-lamellae was quicklyterminated by other β-spherulites. In the PP layer, becausethe formation of α-crystals delayed, all β-lamellae couldfreely grow perpendicular to the interface and finally form the β-transcrystallinity(β-TC) layer with about 25 μm thickness. If the thicknessof PP layer was lower than 50 μm, PP layer would be almost occupiedby β-TC. The ordered arrangement of β-TC led to an orientationof molecular chains of β-TC layer parallel to the interface.With the increase of layer number, the content of β-TC and orientationdegree of layered samples increased. This paper provided a simpleand effective method to prepare continuous, highly ordered and content-controlledβ-TC. As a result, the sample with high content of β-TCexhibited good mechanical properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzed the clinical outcomes of patients with elevated progesterone level on the HCG day in IVF/ICSI cycles, with different timing of embryo transfer. A total of 123 patients were involved in this prospective randomized clinical study. Group 1: blastocyst transfer group, 38 cases; Group 2: frozen-thawed embryo transfer group (first FET cycle), 42 cases; Group 3: fresh embryo transfer group, 43 cases. The basal FSH level was comparable among three groups (6.7 ± 3 versus 7.0 ± 2 versus 6.9 ± 2.4, p = 0.897). The clinical pregnancy rate was highest in group 2, lowest in group 3, with significantly difference (31.6% versus 38.1% versus 13.9%, p = 0.037). The implantation rate and live birth rate were still lowest in group 3 (21.9% versus 19.8% versus 6.7%, p = 0.016 and 18.4% versus 31% versus 11.6%, p = 0.081). In conclusion, the elevated progesterone level will affect clinical pregnancy rate in fresh embryo transfer cycles. We suggest frozen-thawed embryo transfer for these patients. However, for those patients who expressed the wish to have fresh embryo transfer, they should be suggested fresh blastocyst transfer, if they have more than five good quality embryos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Composite filters based on morphological operators are getting considerably attractive to medical image denoising. Most of such composite filters depend on classical morphological operators. In this article, an optimal composite adaptive morphological filter (FCAMF) is developed through a genetic programming (GP) training algorithm by using new nonlocal amoeba morphological operators. On one hand, we propose a novel method for formulating and implementing nonlocal amoeba structuring elements (SEs) for input-adaptive morphological operators. The nonlocal amoeba SEs in the proposed strategy is divided into two parts: one is the patch distance based amoeba center, and another is the geodesic distance based amoeba boundary, by which the nonlocal patch distance and local geodesic distance are both taken into consideration. On the other hand, GP as a supervised learning algorithm is employed for building the FCAMF. In GP module, FCAMF is evolved through evaluating the fitness of several individuals over certain number of generations. The proposed method does not need any prior information about the Rician noise variance. Experimental results on both standard simulated and real MRI data sets show that the proposed filter produces excellent results and outperforms existing state-of-the-art filters, especially for highly noisy image. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Imaging Syst Technol, 25, 15-23, 2015 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In view of the selection of structuring elements problem in morphological filters, this paper presents a new method to generate structuring elements for spatially-variant morphology. This method takes the theory of amoeba morphology as a foundation and new amoeba distances to generate structuring elements for spatially-variant filters are defined. The proposed strategy essentially consists in an amoeba kernel is divided into two parts: one is the patch-based center; another is the pixel-based boundary, the two parts combining both nonlocal patch-based distance and local pixel-based distance. This nonlocal and local configurations make nonlocal patch-based processing method becomes local processing on amoeba structuring element. New amoeba kernels are less flexible at patch-based center than traditional amoebas and their shape is less affected by noises in pilot image. By designing new amoeba structuring element, a new family of morphological filters are derived that have better performance in removing the noise while adaptively preserving the main structures compared with traditional amoeba filters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, structural health monitoring and management (SHMM) has become a popular approach and is considered essential for achieving well-performing, long-lasting, sustainable transportation infrastructure systems. Key requirements in ideal SHMM of road infrastructure include long-term, continuous, and real-time monitoring of pavement response and performance under various pavement geometry-materials-loading configurations and environmental conditions. With advancements in wireless technologies, integration of wireless communications into sensing device is considered an alternate and superior solution to existing time- and labor-intensive wired sensing systems in meeting the requirements of an ideal SHMM. This study explored the development and integration of a wireless communications sub-system into a commercial off-the-shelf micro-electromechanical sensor-based concrete pavement monitoring system. A success-rate test was performed after the wireless transmission system was buried in the concrete slab, and the test results indicated that the system was able to provide reliable communications at a distance of more than 46 m (150 feet). This will be a useful feature for highway engineers performing routine pavement scans from the pavement shoulder without the need for traffic control or road closure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Diet-induced obesity can induce low-level inflammation and insulin resistance. Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) is one of the key proinflammatory cytokines that contributes to the generation of insulin resistance and diabetes, but the mechanisms that regulate obesity-driven inflammation are ill defined. Here we found reduced expression of the E3 ubiquitin ligase Pellino3 in human abdominal adipose tissue from obese subjects and in adipose tissue of mice fed a high-fat diet and showing signs of insulin resistance. Pellino3-deficient mice demonstrated exacerbated high-fat-diet-induced inflammation, IL-1β expression, and insulin resistance. Mechanistically, Pellino3 negatively regulated TNF receptor associated 6 (TRAF6)-mediated ubiquitination and stabilization of hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF1α), resulting in reduced HIF1α-induced expression of IL-1β. Our studies identify a regulatory mechanism controlling diet-induced insulin resistance by highlighting a critical role for Pellino3 in regulating IL-1β expression with implications for diseases like type 2 diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polypropylene (PP)/organic montmorillonite (OMMT) nanocomposites were first prepared through twin-screw extruder and then subjected to multistage stretching extrusion with an assembly of laminating-multiplying elements (LMEs, which divide and recombine polymer melts). The exfoliated efficiency of LMEs on OMMT dispersed in PP matrix was investigated by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. Because of the absence of compatibilizer, molecular chains of PP were not intercalated into the galleries of OMMT during the multistage stretching extrusion. The exfoliation of OMMT was induced by the strong force occurred in LMEs, which can destruct van der Waal's interaction between the laminate OMMT platelets. The exfoliation degree of OMMT has been improved with the increase of number of LMEs used. The dispersion morphology of OMMT was thermodynamically stable after secondary melt processing. As a result, the mechanical properties of composites have been enhanced with increasing LME number. We realized the exfoliation of OMMT by the function of strong shear field without the incorporation of compatibilizer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ZnO nanocages and other nanostructures have been synthesized via a simple one-pot hydrothermal method with different reaction times. It is worth mentioning that this is a completely green method which does not require any other chemicals except that Zn foil served as Zn source in the experiment. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), photoluminescence (PL) and UV–Vis diffuse reflection spectra were used to characterize the crystallinity, morphology and optical property of ZnO structures. Growth mechanisms of ZnO were proposed based on these results. Furthermore, ZnO films with different morphologies and crystal growth habits exhibited different activities to rhodamine B degradation. The influence of the reaction time on the morphology of ZnO films and the effect of the morphologies on the photocatalytic activity are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ZnFe 1.97 RE 0.03 O 4 (RE=Eu and Nd) nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared via the sol–gel method. We investigated the effect of RE 3+ doping on the spinel structure and the magnetic properties of the samples. Compared to the paramagnetism of pure ZnFe 2 O 4 , the ZnFe 1.97 Eu 0.03 O 4 and ZnFe 1.97 Nd 0.03 O 4 NPs exhibit weak ferromagnetic properties, since the formation of defects in ZnFe 2 O 4 caused by RE 3+ doping not only create energy levels within the band gap to hybridize with the 4f levels RE 3+ and trigger the onset of magnetic order, but also work as the pinning centers to impede the rotation of the magnetization and give rise to the enhanced coercivity. Moreover, the coercivity and saturation magnetization of ZnFe 1.97 Nd 0.03 O 4 NPs are stronger than those of ZnFe 1.97 Eu 0.03 O 4 NPs due to the larger spin and orbital moments of Nd 3+ ions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• An LC-MS/MS method for the determination of mescaline in hair was developed. • LOD was 3 pg/mg and LOQ was 10 pg/mg. • The mescaline concentrations in the positive hair samples ranged from 10 to 784 pg/mg. • Combined use of mescaline and DMT in mescaline users. Mescaline, a natural alkaloid found in the peyote cactus (Lophophora williamsii) in the Americas, has gradually become a drug of abuse in China because of its psychedelic properties. Its intake may lead to hallucinations and confusion or even be life-threatening. Mescaline is classified as a class Ⅰ psychotropic drug in China, which means its use in medicine or scientific research is under strict control of the government. However, studies on surveillance of mescaline abuse in the Chinese population are lacking. A rapid and sensitive liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the determination and quantification of mescaline in hair. The method had good linearity in the range from 10 to 1000 pg/mg, with the limit of detection (LOD) of 3 pg/mg and the limit of quantitation (LOQ) of 10 pg/mg. The total runtime was 5 min. Acceptable intraday and interday precision (RSD < 15%) and accuracy (bias, −11.2% ∼ 6.8%) were achieved. The recovery was 85.0–101.0%, and the matrix effect was 92.0–105.0%. The validated method was successfully applied to 19 real forensic cases. The concentrations of mescaline in hair ranged from 10 to 784 pg/mg. The method has the benefits of simple sample preparation, high sensitivity, and short running time, making it suitable for large-scale quantitative surveillance analysis of mescaline in forensic toxicology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How to effectively purify fine particles from the atmosphere has always been the key and difficult point in atmospheric pollution prevention and control. This paper reported a new capture technology for haze particles based on the particle sink effect. The capture characteristics of haze particles and haze removal effect were analyzed in detail. The results showed that particulate matter concentrations (PMC) in the spatial area within a radius of 30 m could be reduced by 20%–75% in about one hour unaffected by environmental factors. Up to nearly 10% of haze particles in the outdoor working area were removed by the cooperation of different operation modes of the haze removal device (HRD). Additionally, the influences of wind direction (WD) and wind speed (WS) on the haze removal effect were revealed. The technology offers unique advantages in collecting haze particles and can be applied to alleviate urban haze. [Display omitted] • A new approach based on particle sink effect was developed for haze removal. • Haze particles could be clearly separated whether the HRD standing or moving. • PMC was reduced by 20%-75% within a 30m radius for about 1 hr in a confined space. • The effect range was at least 30m as the HRD worked outdoor under windless. • Up to nearly 10% of the haze particles could be removed in outdoor working area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Inorganic HAuCl 4 doping combined organic NPB post-treatment strategy was proposed. • High PCE of 19.20% for Au@PEDOT:PSS/NPB PSCs is achieved on rigid substrate. • Flexible Au@PEDOT:PSS/NPB PSCs achieve 14.04% PCE with strong wrinkle resistance. • Improved hysteresis and stability of PSCs are realized via synchronous regulation. The further improvements in optoelectronic properties, hydrophobicity of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) hole transport layers, as well as regulation of defect states within devices are essential to promote the continued development of inverted p-i-n rigid and flexible planar perovskite solar cells (PSCs). However, the strong hygroscopicity, poor surface morphology, lower work function and coil configuration of pristine PEDOT:PSS films are detrimental to their own performance and growth dynamics process of perovskites, often resulting in sever energy losses and poor device performance. Herein, hydrogen tetrachloroaurate (III) hydrate (HAuCl 4 ·3H 2 O) additive is combined with a conductive N,N'-Bis-(1-naphthalenyl)-N,N'-bis-phenyl-(1,1′-biphenyl)-4,4′-diamine (NPB) buffer layer to boost device performance by systematically modulating PEDOT:PSS and perovskite film. Wherein, the redox reaction between PEDOT:PSS and HAuCl 4 can cause phase segregation of PEDOT:PSS, improving the hydrophobicity, electrical conductivity, work function and surface morphology of the films. The reduced gold nanoparticles will produce localized surface plasmon resonance effects, thus enhancing the utilization of solar radiation by perovskite films. Furthermore, the suitable energy level alignment of NPB layer relative to perovskite and Au@PEDOT:PSS films will sufficiently exploit the dissociative excitons to facilitate effective hole transport, and the N atoms in NPB can also passivate defects at the interface by binding to uncoordinated Pb2+ ions, thereby reducing non-radiative open-circuit voltage loss and increasing short-circuit current density. A high power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 19.20% can be achieved for MA 0.85 FA 0.15 PbI 3 based p-i-n PSCs with negligible hysteresis and enhanced stability of devices. Similarly, the corresponding flexible device achieves a PCE of 14.04% with improved crumpling durability throughout low temperature preparation conditions below 140 °C. Our work presents a facile method to prepare high-efficient inverted PSCs while achieving improved long-term device stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]